


here's to you (you were pink or blue, and everything i wanted)

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: we'll make it right for you [4]
Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Future, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24962626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: According to Abe, Harper does not want a traditional gender reveal, but she does want to be surprised. Maya does not really understand this, but she goes along for the sake of her friends, anyway.
Relationships: John "Abe" Abraham/Harper Li
Series: we'll make it right for you [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803601
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	here's to you (you were pink or blue, and everything i wanted)

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from Nichole Nordeman's "Slow Down."

“My mother keeps inviting me to join Pinterest boards.”

“This might be an idiotic question,” Abe began, expertly flipping a pancake off the griddle and onto the plate already stacked high with them, “but do you know _why_ your mother keeps inviting you to join all these Pinterest boards?”

Harper sighed heavily, settling on one of the two barstools placed at the counter. She rested her elbows on the surface, cupping her chin in her palm as she watched him cook. “I made the mistake of telling her we’re going to be able to find out the gender sooner than she thought we would.”

“And?”

“And she wants to do a gender reveal.”

“Ah.” Abe plated up two pancakes, a spoonful of eggs, and two slices of bacon, sliding the plate across the table for her to take and then turning around to retrieve the peanut butter (a new craving of hers) and maple syrup. “Hence the Pinterest boards.”

“I don’t want to do a gender reveal,” Harper told him, her voice nearly a whine. “I want to find out the results of the test myself, then tell all my friends and family myself. It’s fun, and it’s efficient. Why is it that _explosives_ have to be involved in that process nowadays?”

“Well, they don’t,” Abe pointed out, pouring her a glass of orange juice and placing it in front of her before turning back around to prepare his own plate. “You could just tell your mother that you don’t want a gender reveal. She’d understand.”

“I’m sorry, are we talking about the same woman? You have _met_ my mother, haven’t you? Do you really think _Elaine Li_ will be remotely okay with her whims being refused?”

“No, but I _do_ think we might be able to duck her high heels when she throws them at us. You know, just enough to avoid serious injury.” Abe sighed when her facial expression remained unchanged. “You don’t have to give in to your mother, Harper. If you don’t want a gender reveal, then she shouldn’t try to force you into having one.”

“Do _you_ want to have a gender reveal?”

“I want to be able to tell people which section to shop in, because everything is incredibly gendered and my mother and sister won’t stop pestering me. I don’t have any particular opinion on how we go about uncovering the information. Opening an envelope works just as well as popping a balloon.”

She nodded once, accepting what he was saying. “I’ll tell her, but you should prepare for her to get very passive-aggressive with you the second I do.”

“For her to _get_ passive-aggressive? What has she been this whole time, then?”

“Oh, you sweet, innocent man. This has been her at her friendliest.”

“Your mother terrifies me,” he told her seriously.

“I get that.”

-o-

“I’m sorry, _what_ are you asking me to do, exactly?”

“Harper doesn’t want a gender reveal,” Abe explained again, more slowly than before.

“I am aware of that, Abe. Everyone who’s ever met her is aware of that. The girl hates being the center of attention. What I am not aware of is how that has anything to do with me.”

“Harper doesn’t want to do a gender reveal, but she still wants to be surprised.” Abe sighed when Maya continued to stare at him blankly. “She wants to do it without all the fanfare. Just a dinner, with all of us. Can’t be anything big, because she told her mother we weren’t having a party.”

“How’d she get out of her mother coming up and throwing a party, anyway?”

“Told her we didn’t have the yard space,” he reported promptly, shaking his head when she huffed a laugh at that. “The doctor will be giving us an envelope on Tuesday. We want to give that envelope to you, for safe-keeping until Friday’s dinner.”

“Why me? Why not Trey?”

“You’re as much our friend as Trey is, Dobbins. Also, he lives with Nona Ferry. There’s absolutely no _way_ that envelope would stay closed for three days, and it’s even less likely she’d avoid letting it slip.”

“Okay,” Maya nodded, still confused. “If you’re not planning to open it until the dinner, why don’t you just keep it at your place and open it yourselves?”

“Because we lack any semblance of self-control when it comes to this.”

“Well, at least you’re honest about it.” Maya eyed him silently for another moment, then nodded once. “I will hide this mysterious letter of yours to save you from yourselves, if that’s what you want.”

“Thank you. It’s much appreciated.”

“I have one request, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Can I open it? I’d like to do something, and I sort of need the information earlier if I’m going to do it.”

“Will you be able to keep it a secret?”

She stared at him with a deadpan expression. “Yes. I can wait until Thursday, though, if that’ll make you feel better. Open it when I get home. You and Harper have both taken Friday off, right? You’ve got some family thing to do?”

“My mother’s moving out of our old place in D.C.,” he informed her. “Found a place in Neabsco.”

“That’s not far from here. Then again, neither is D.C.”

“It’s twenty-three minutes from Neabsco to here; forty-something from D.C. to here. Apparently, those extra minutes are very important to her now that she’s got a grandchild on the way.”

“As they should be. So?” Maya asked expectantly. “Can I open the envelope?”

He considered the question for a moment, then nodded. “Sure. If anyone can keep this a secret while knowing, it’s you.”

“I’m flattered. Now, where are we on your mother’s ring? You used it yet?”

“ _Goodbye_ , Maya.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, shaking her head disappointedly as he left her office to head to his own, “that’s what I thought he’d say.”

-o-

“Mariah, don’t…” Nona trailed off, shaking her head as her toddler proceeded to wipe mud all over her dress, refusing to heed her mother’s warnings. The mother of two glanced at the couple seated across from her. “Soon enough, you’ll get to deal with things like this.”

“Can’t wait,” Abe replied honestly, at the same time Harper said giddily, “I know, I’m so excited.”

She rolled her eyes at them, unable to bite back a grin. “Sure, it’s all adorable when they’re first learning to walk and doing it then, but imagine this every day. Also, there are two of them.”

“You are a stronger woman than most, Nona Ferry,” Harper said seriously, glancing over at the second Ferry twin as he colored next to her. She wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be, but she figured that was probably normal, seeing as how he was still little more than a baby.

“Thank you for the recognition,” Nona laughed, reaching for her tea glass. “Abe, your mother’s amazing and I might have to steal her from you.”

“She’ll be fine with being shared,” he answered dryly, pressing a kiss against Harper’s cheek before heading over to the grill to help Trey out before the older man lost his mind and decided it’d likely be better to just go ahead and order in pizza.

“So,” Nona began, turning her attention to the younger woman seated across from her, “how are you doing?”

“Good,” Harper replied with a genuine smile. “Tired, but that’s about it.”

“That’s good to hear. Although I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I must warn you – that tiredness is going to last throughout.”

“That’s what I figured.” Still, Harper smiled, one hand resting against her abdomen.

“It’s nice to see you so happy,” Nona said earnestly, grinning a bit as she nodded in Abe’s direction. “And him, too. You know, we used to think that boy was never going to settle down, but the very first time he brought you over here, back when you were just friends, I knew we were wrong. And I’m glad we were.”

“I’m glad you were, too.” Harper’s smile widened as she caught sight of someone over Nona’s shoulder, and, a moment later, Deborah Abraham sank into the chair next to her son’s girlfriend.

“Oh, your children are absolutely _precious_ , Nona,” the older woman gushed.

“Thank you,” Nona said graciously. “Especially for saying that when one of them is completely covered in mud.”

“Well, as a mother of three myself, I know there’s almost always one of them completely covered in mud at that age,” Deborah responded wisely, grinning at Harper when the younger woman laughed. “You’re in for quite the ride, my dear. You and my son both.”

“Oh, we’ve been warned,” the captain assured the other woman, glancing up as Rami walked through the door, Emmitt perched on his hip and Nadia holding tight to his other hand. “Hello,” she greeted the little girl, smiling as six-year-old Nadia immediately dashed over to see what the woman she’d recently dubbed _Auntie Harper_ was doing.

“Hello, ma’am,” Rami greeted politely, wincing when she shot him a mildly exasperated smile.

“As you can see, we’re still working on that,” Nazil reported, trailing after her husband with a bag over each shoulder. “I know it’s been almost two years at this point, but he’ll get it down eventually.”

Harper laughed lightly at the other woman’s quips. “I have the utmost faith in you both.”

“I’m not sure you should,” Nazil stage-whispered, sweeping her daughter onto her hip and depositing her in a chair across from Harper. “There. Now you can color, alright? Give me a second, and I’ll get you your books.”

“Okay, Mommy – Auntie Maya!” Nadia squealed, catching sight of the defense attorney walking into the backyard and practically launching herself in her direction.

“Hi, kiddo,” Maya laughed, squatting down to pick the little girl up and return her to her seat. “It’s good to see you, too. By the way,” she said to the rest of the group, “nobody is allowed in the fridge out in the garage until after there is a revealing of this kid’s gender, alright? There’s a cake. You can’t see it. Trust me, please.”

“Alright,” Harper agreed easily enough, though she shook her head at her friend’s antics. “You haven’t slipped up once.”

“Of course not,” Maya scoffed, looking offended by the very idea. “I’m _me_.”

“Yes, and you’re very _humble_ , too.”

Maya waved a hand in the air at that, grinning at Harper’s teasing. “Where’s your worse half?”

“Keeping mine from having a mental breakdown over steak cook time,” Nona reported, nodding to where the two men were standing.

Maya sighed, shaking her head. “This is why I always recommend chicken. There aren’t debates or online forums dedicated to the cook time of chicken. You either let it reach a certain temperature, or you’re at idiot.”

“I have no clue what I just walked into, and I’m not sure I want to know,” Abe said from behind Harper. “I’ve just come to retrieve the tongs, and then I’ll be on my way again. Mr. Ahmadi,” he nodded to Rami. “Mrs. Ahmadi,” he added jokingly, knowing how much Nazil disliked it.

Sure enough, the woman rolled her eyes exasperatedly before returning her focus to the younger of her two children. “You’ve got to let that one go, Abraham.”

“I’ll say to you what I said to your husband when I suggested I change my ringtone. Not in a million years, Ahmadi.”

Nazil heaved a sigh, then glanced over at Harper. “You’ve agreed to put up with this for the rest of your life.”

“I know,” Harper replied, reaching back to pat Abe’s hand before he could leave them to go back to Trey and his grilling frustration. “Isn’t it _great_?”

-o-

“Alright,” Maya said, returning from her car several hours later, after they’d eaten dinner, with a yellow bag in tow. “There’s a cake that gives it away, too, but it’ll do it instantly, and I know you wanted to be surprised, so… here.” She set the bag in front of her friends on the table, then returned to her own seat to watch as they opened it.

“Oh, thank you, Maya,” Harper breathed, carefully removing pastel tissue paper so they could have better access to whatever the bag held. “This is so thought…” She trailed off, staring at the tiny item in her hand. “Oh,” she murmured, eyes glistening with tears as she glanced over at Abe. “ _John_.”

He carefully took the outfit from her, his own eyes damp as he stared down at it. It was the tiniest little tuxedo he had ever seen, even if it _was_ in onesie form. He cleared his throat, glancing up at Maya. “I’m guessing this means we’re having a boy?”

“Or a girl who’s a real trendsetter,” his mother quipped from next to them, although her words were nearly as choked as theirs had been.

“You’re having a boy,” Maya confirmed, laughing when Harper practically squealed, leaning over to kiss Abe once, twice, three times, tears slipping down her cheeks as she laughed against his lips.

“We’re having a _boy_ ,” the expectant mother repeated, grinning up at the man beside her. “A baby _boy_ , Abe.”

“Yeah,” he choked out, clearing his throat to rid himself of the lump developing there. “We are. Pretty great, huh?”

“It’s _amazing_.”

“It is,” he agreed without hesitation. “It’s amazing.”

“There’s some other stuff in there, too. I got one of those care kits, and a few other little outfits, and… they are not listening to me.” Maya shook her head, unable to be angry at the euphoric couple sitting opposite her. “Alright. Who wants cake?”

And so they spent the next couple hours eating cake, sharing stories, and celebrating the impending arrival of a baby boy already blessed enough to have all the people around that table – every single last one of them – consider him their own. 

**Author's Note:**

> My sister-in-law's father was the one given the papers when they were doing my niece's gender reveal, and he went out and purchased Little's first gift (which, because I know you're just SO curious, was a Minnie Mouse care kit, with the nail clippers and hairbrush and everything). I thought that was an incredibly thoughtful idea, and so I decided to incorporate it in here. Also, let's be honest. Maya may be trustworthy enough not to spill the beans, but she's already in Auntie Maya mode. She DEFINITELY would have opened that envelope to go out and make sure the baby had at least one gift, even if she hadn't asked first. She just would've gotten... inventive with how to reseal it, haha. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I've only been to one gender reveal - again, my niece's - and it was very much a traditional one (I remain convinced there's still glitter and confetti ALL OVER that yard. It's just doing a fantastic job at hiding), but when the time came for me to write this, I just really couldn't see Abe and Harper going about it EXACTLY like that. Also, I've recently started watching The Rookie, and I'd just gotten to an episode where people were hospitalized for "glitter-related injuries," after a gender reveal (which, by the way, DID involve explosives) when I was writing this, so. There's that. Also, if you plan to have a gender reveal at any time in the future, or know someone who will be, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, for me, do not light anything on fire. Or buy out a plane. Or... to loosely quote Trevor Noah, "If it's necessary for people's SAFETY for them to be outside during your baby's gender reveal, then you've taken it too far." 
> 
> (Also, fun tidbit: when I come up with names of children who have siblings, I often consult those "good sibling pairings" lists you can find online, because I'm terrible at thinking of names that sound good together by myself. So, one of the top boy names for a sibling to Nadia was "Ahmad," and I actually considered it for several seconds before realizing that it'd sound ridiculous. This is like the time I considered the name "Lincoln," for Abe and Harper's child before realizing why it would be a problem.)


End file.
